The Payment
by Esca Madeline
Summary: Sequel to The Necklace. A simple dinner party ends in a discussion of marriage for Pinky and Derby.


Disclaimer: Bully is owned by Rockstar.

A/N: This is the sequel to "The Necklace." You MUST read that story first.

This drabble is more dialogue based. But this style works well, so deal with it. This work happens to be inspired by Maupassant.

Warnings: Mentions of infidelity and hints of sexual tension are rampant in this final chapter. In other words, this is strictly a scene between Pinky and Derby.

**Episode: The Payment**

The fire blazed in the hearth, illuminating the gleaming surface of the large, polished wooden table. On the surface, there were several plates of delicious delicacies that had been carefully set up for two, and the porcelain teapot steamed cheerfully in the silence beside a sugar bowl and a large bottle of wine.

Derby Harrington threw his hat, his satin gloves, and his black overcoat onto a chair while Pinky, after taking off her evening-wrap, smoothed her dark hair in front of the mirror. She smiled at her reflection as she twisted the curls on her forehead with the tips of her perfectly manicured fingers. Then she turned towards her husband, who had been looking at her for a few minutes with a solemn, somewhat hesitant look in his eyes.

Finally, he said, "Did you receive enough attention tonight?"

Pinky's lips thinned slightly. "Hmm. I'm not entirely sure, Derby." She took a seat near the table and looked him straight in the eye, her dark irises gleaming with triumph and defiance. "After all the time I spent preparing myself for that silly little dinner party, I should _hope _so."

"Oh, bother!" Derby took a seat next to her, reaching for a strawberry scone. His handsome face twisted as he broke the delicate pastry between his fingers, and he gave her a fierce glare. "You know perfectly well that's not what I'm talking about! Dearest, do you realize that you've made me look…_almost_ ridiculous in front of our fellow elite?"

"Are you _upset_?" Pinky asked innocently. "Are you going to criticize my behavior? Because if you are, then I swear—"

"No, no, no! Dearest, all I'm saying is that Tad Spencer's attitude towards you was practically indecent. If…if…if I had the right to, I'd have given him a good public thrashing."

"Ha!" A mocking laugh burst from Pinky's lips, the sudden movement almost making her spill her cup of jasmine tea. "Oh, be honest, Derby! You've simply changed your ideals since last year, that's all."

"What? I haven't the foggiest idea of what you are talking about."

Pinky crossed her legs, her lips set in a poised smile. "You didn't seem to care back then whether or not anyone was paying attention to little old me. When I told you that I knew you were with Bif—whom you had the _gall_ to be in love with, when you were married to _me_—I told you, as you told me tonight, that I disapproved of your actions. I told you, with a heavy heart, that you were hurting me."

"Pinky—"

"And do you remember what you said?" Pinky went on, completely ignoring Derby's pained look. "Do you remember what it was that you said to me, my dear _husband_? You made it clear to me that I was perfectly free. You made it clear to me that marriage between two elites was just a partnership, that we were bound to one another by a _social_ bond, but not a moral bond. Isn't that so? From your own words, I understood that _Bif_ was much more attractive to you than me."

Derby paused. "I didn't mean what I said back then."

"He was more captivating, was he not? More pleasurable than I could ever be? Yes, that's what you said. He was more _pleasurable_. Of course, you said this with the delicacy and finesse that one could expect from a perfect gentleman, wrapping it up in compliments and expressing it all with a tactical expression that I know of firsthand! Oh, I wish I never fell for your silly, meaningless words!"

"Pinky…" At this, her husband tried to touch her cheek, but Pinky brutally slapped his hand away.

"Oh, don't _touch_ me, you beast!" she cried. "The fact remains that I understand exactly what you meant! I agreed that we should continue to live together that fateful day. I agreed that we should continue to remain husband and wife for appearance's sake, but that we could also live independent of each other! You told me, point blank, that all you cared about was keeping up appearances! By your words and actions, I understood that I could have had my own lover if I wished for one!"

"That is not what I meant!" Derby yelled, his face growing redder by the second. "By god, woman, you are taking the entire situation out of proportion!"

"Out of proportion?! How DARE you?" Pinky nearly threw the cup of hot tea into Derby's face in a rage, but she restrained herself at the last second. Forcing herself to calm down, she noisily took a sip from the porcelain teacup, and kept her dark eyes away from her husband's icy blue ones.

For a moment, the couple said nothing, opting to listen to the crackling of the fire in the hearth.

"You were in love," Pinky said suddenly, her voice shaking. "You were in love with Bif at the time, and my _lawful_ affection, my _legitimate_ affection, was all but a nuisance to you. Were you disgusted with me, Derby? Did you find me repulsive? Well, at any rate, I must thank you. For over a year, we've led separate lives, and it's been very _fun_ for me."

Derby remained silent.

"But for the past month and a half," she went on, "you've been behaving very strangely. It's almost like you were jealous, Derby. What's wrong with you?"

Silence. Then, a sigh.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Derby said quietly. "And I'm not jealous. But seeing as you are so young, so lovely, and so_ impetuous_…well, I'm rather afraid of seeing you harm your own reputation."

A bitter smile twisted Pinky's soft, pale lips. "If we're going to discuss the matters of reputation, I wouldn't exactly recommend bringing up _yours_."

"This isn't funny, dearest! I'm talking to you seriously, as a friend if not a husband! And as for what you were saying just now, that's a terrible exaggeration."

"Oh, come off it, Derby! You admitted to me without batting an eye that you were having affairs all over the place! You didn't _have _to admit your other affairs, but after Bif, you didn't seem to care much, did you? By proxy, your actions give me _at least_ the right to have a little bit of fun with you!"

"Allow me to—"

"Shut up. I'm not finished. And as for me, I admit that I have had some…naughty bit of fun with our old friends. However, I have yet to find a true lover. I'm waiting and looking, but so far I haven't found one to suit me. He has to be nice. Nicer than _you_, anyway."

Derby's hands clenched. "Dearest, that was uncalled for."

"You deserve it," Pinky said furiously, setting her empty teacup back onto the saucer. "You treated me like an item that you can merely fling away, so I've decided that if I mean next to nothing for you, then you mean _less_ than nothing for me!"

"How can you say such a thing, my love?!"

"How can _I_ say such a thing? But you roared with laughter when Christy said that Chad meant less than nothing to her due to him having a one-night stand with Lola Lombardi! You just don't like it because I've used the same context of the words on you! You hypocrite!"

"You're talking in a most unseemly way tonight." Derby tilted his head slightly to the side, and gave Pinky a strange, intrigued look. "I've…never seen you like this before."

Pinky laughed bitterly. "Well, it's your fault, Derby. I've changed for the worst, and it's all because of you."

"Look, Pinky. Let's talk seriously. Don't let that scoundrel Spencer pay the sort of improper attentions he paid you tonight."

"Ha! You _are_ jealous! I told you so."

"It's not that! I just don't like looking ridiculous. We are Harringtons, Pinky. Harringtons are the epitome of proper appearances. And if I see that fellow breathing on your shoulders again—or rather, on your breasts…"

"He accidentally spilled a drink on me! He was helping me clean myself up!"

"I'll ruin him, dearest. Bank on it."

Pinky sniffed haughtily. "You aren't—you aren't in _love_ with me by any chance, are you?"

"I could do much worse," Derby admitted, shrugging. "Eunice Pound would have been a devastating mistake…"

"Well, well. There's just one problem with that. I'm not in love with _you_ anymore." With that, Pinky rose from the table and walked towards their bedroom.

But Derby wasn't done. He stood up, and quietly walked around the little table until he was just behind his wife. Without warning, he wrapped an arm around her slim waist, tenderly brushing his lips against the back of her neck as he did so. Pinky immediately let out a shrill scream and tore herself out of a startled Derby's grasp, whirling around to meet his shocked blue eyes with her own dark ones.

"Don't do that!" she cried. "No more nonsense like that between us, you hear me? It's over!"

"Oh, come now," Derby purred, his voice suddenly thick and husky. "I've found you absolutely ravishing for some time now."

"W-what?" Pinky's jaw dropped slightly. This was something she didn't expect in the least…but then a dark realization clicked in her mind. "Oh, you bastard! You—you think I'm some kind of cheap tramp that'll just give in to you at a whim?"

"I think you're beautiful, dearest. Your arms, your shoulders, your fair complexion…"

"All of which would easily captivate Tad…"

Derby's features twisted—from one moment, he was seductive, and the next, he was utterly enraged. "Don't say his name!" he roared. "Don't you dare imply that he's good enough for you! You outclass him by over a hundred miles!"

Pinky snorted—an unladylike sound coming from a very elegant-looking lady. "You must be _starving_."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said that you must be starving. You see, Derby dear, when a man hasn't eaten in a very long while, he's ravenously hungry. And when he's ravenously hungry, he'll eat things he wouldn't normally touch at any other time. I am the—the _course_ which used to disgust you, but as you haven't had a proper meal in a while, I am now the course you are now desperate for."

"Pinky!" Derby cried in shock. "Whoever taught you to speak in such a manner?"

"Why, _you_ did! Ever since you broke up with Bif, you've had, to my knowledge, five mistresses, three boyfriends, and one brief fling with both Angelina and Andrew Aquaberry. I've seen you staring at Benjamin Shortman while Darcy wasn't looking. Yes, at seventeen, that boy _has_ blossomed, hasn't he?"

A pallid green color overtook Derby's face. "Dearest, I'd prefer to _not_ talk about that."

"You see, that's what I can't understand. The only reason for you to want me is if you haven't seen any of your so-called lovers in a while."

"I'm going to be brutally honest with you, Pinky. I've fallen in love with you again. Madly, insanely, over-the-hills in love. So there."

Pinky scoffed. "So…you'd like to start all over again? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes."

"Tonight?"

"Oh, Pinky!"

"See?" Pinky poked a finger against her husband's hard chest, and grinned. "You're shocked. Listen you brute—we're nothing to each other anymore. We don't even have children to affirm a connection between us! I'm your wife, that much is true. But! I'm a wife who is also a free agent. I was going to bestow my beauty and charms elsewhere…"

"Pinky, don't you dare!"

"…but as you've asked me for preference, well, I'm prepared to do so. At a reasonable price, of course."

Derby gave her a confused look, his eyes filled to the brim with uncertainty. "I'm not sure I understand you."

"Am I as attractive as your whores, Derby? Am I now more tempting than _Bif_, or those other man-sluts you've been parrying with? Be honest with me."

"You are a thousand times more attractive, and a million times fairer."

"How much did the most attractive of them cost you in three months?"

"What?"

"How much did the most pleasurable of your whores cost you in three months, regarding money, jewels, suppers, theaters, and so on?"

"How am I supposed to remember that?" Derby snapped frustratingly, crossing his arms as he looked down at his wife in displeasure. "I don't have a point blank memory, you know!"

"Fine, then let's take an estimate. About eighty-thousand a month should cover it, right?"

"Well…I suppose so."

"In that case Derby," Pinky replied with a secret smile, "give me eighty-thousand dollars right now, and I'm yours for a full month, starting tonight."

Derby's jaw hit the floor, and he very nearly took a step back from Pinky from shock alone. "You…you must be mad!"

"If that's what you think…then good night!" Pinky left the room and went into their bedroom, slipping off her gloves as she did so. The grand, elegant bed had been turned down, and a lovely, aromatic fragrance hung in the air, clinging to the curtains in all its sweetness.

Derby appeared in the doorway, his face filled with displeasure and annoyance, but softening when he caught a whiff of the delectable scent. "It smells delightful in here."

"You think so?" Pinky inhaled the air deeply, then shrugged. "It's just my perfume, silly. I haven't changed it. I still use Intuition."

"Really?" Derby sniffed the air again, sighing peacefully as he closed his eyes. "It smells very nice. How odd that I never noticed this before…"

"How odd indeed! Well, if you're done, please leave. I want to go to bed."

"Pinky!"

"Go away!"

Derby walked right into the room and sat in an armchair, his eyes never leaving her body.

"So that's how it's going to be, Derby?" Pinky remarked. "Then fine! Sleep in that awful chair all night if you want! See if I care!" She unzipped the back of her blue dress, letting the silk slip off from her body in one flowing movement. In a moment, her bare, white skin was revealed, her only bits of clothing being her bra, panties, and a pair of silk stockings. She reached up to unpin her hair, and her chest heaved upwards, making her breasts peak in all their glory.

Derby sprang to his feet and came over to her, unbuttoning his dress shirt and ripping it away from his hardened body in one swift motion.

"Don't come any nearer!" Pinky cried, seeing the lust in his eyes. "If you so much as touch me, I'll get really angry! AAAAAH! Get away from me!"

He clasped her in his arms from behind, holding her in a fierce embrace as he tried to kiss her. Struggling to escape, Pinky seized a glass of water which was standing on her dressing-table and threw the entire contents of the glass over her shoulder, straight into Derby's face.

Coughing and gasping as he leapt away from her, Derby tumbled backwards onto the floor in a disgraceful heap, trying to wipe the water out of his eyes and nose. Pinky ran around him and dashed to the door, putting one trembling hand on the doorknob as Derby slowly rose to his feet, dripping with water.

There was a deadly look in his eyes, and had it been anyone else, Derby would almost certainly have struck that unfortunate person by now.

"That was a stupid thing to do, _dearest_," he spat, slowly advancing on her.

Pinky held her ground. He would never harm her. Their entire reputations hinged on their well-to-do, skin-deep marriage. "You know my terms, Derby. Eighty-thousand dollars."

"That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Whoever heard of a husband paying to fuck his own wife? That's ludicrous! A man paying for his own wife is—is stupid!"

Pinky's body trembled, not only with fear but with anger. "It's not as stupid as going out and paying a bunch of whores to fuck him when he has a wife of his own!"

"That may be, but I will stand my ground on this, Pinky!"

"Then do what you want!" Pinky stepped away from the door, and sat down on a nearby sofa. Slowly, she took off her stockings, peeling them off with teasing, careful movements. Her long, pink legs emerged from the mauve silk sheaths, and one by one she placed her small, dainty feet on the white carpet.

And throughout all this, Derby watched her every movement, his eyes fastened to her beautiful, shapely legs. He came closer to her, gently running the back of his hand up her smooth shins. "What an odd idea, that was!" he remarked in a tender voice.

"What idea?" Pinky said irritably.

"Asking me for eighty-thousand dollars."

She pulled her leg out of Derby's reach. "Why is that odd?" she asked. "We're nothing but strangers to each other now, aren't we? You just happen to want me after all this time for god knows what reason. But you can't marry me, as we're already married. So why shouldn't you buy me? At any rate, I might cost less than another lover."

"I will not—"

"Think it over, Derby! Instead of going to some slut who'll just waste the money on stupid things; your wealth will stay here, in your own home. Besides, for such an _intelligent_ man, could anything be more amusing than paying for his own wife? For an elite, nothing's more meaningful than a valuable that costs a lot of money. By putting a price on our lawful love, you'll give it a whole new value, a taste of absolute naughtiness. And with me—" Pinky stretched lazily on the sofa, extending her beautiful body "—you're coming off cheap. Tad was willing to get me a diamond necklace that cost three times as much as what I'm asking _you _for."

She stood up, nearly naked, and strode towards the bathroom. "Now Derby…either pay up, or go away. If you do neither, I'll ring for the maids."

Derby stood there, staring at her, as if he had never seen anything like her before. His face was perplexed, annoyed, and frustrated all at the same time, and as she was from a family just as high as his, he did not know what he could do with her.

"Well? I'm waiting!"

Suddenly, without a word, he growled, reached into his pocket, and tossed her his wallet. "All right, you vixen! Take it all! But let me tell you one thing…"

Pinky picked up the wallet, counting the money as she replied in a slow drawl, "Yes, Derby?"

"Don't expect to make a habit out of it." With that, he grabbed her roughly by the arms and threw her onto the bed, ripping the last of her clothing from her body as he took her with an almost animalistic ferocity.

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**I have a gut feeling that Derby would never hit Pinky. Never. First off, she's his cousin. Second off, the Gauthier family must be very powerful, otherwise the Harringtons never would have let the two of them get engaged. Derby…I don't think he'd hit his wife. He might hit his mistresses and his secret boyfriends, but never Pinky. I think he knows his limits with her, just as she knows her limits with him.**

**Read and Review.**


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